“That wouldn’t happen to be the same President Obama who was afraid to go on Fox, would it?” Carson said with a laugh, during an interview on SiriusXM’s Breitbart News Daily.

“Must be a different guy,” said Carson, who recently topped a NBC News/WSJ poll. “That’s just ridiculous,” he added.

Late Monday, Obama taunted the GOP candidates for withdrawing from the planned NBC debate. “They say, ‘When I talk to [Russian president Vladimir] Putin, he’s going to straighten out’ … and then it turns out they can’t handle a bunch of CNBC moderators,” Obama scoffed.

Carson dismissed Obama’s heckle. “I think [there’s] universal accord on the idea that CNBC was way off base with that [October] debate.” Carson said.

As the article notes, Carson was responding to comments Obama made recently.

“President Barack Obama tore into Republican presidential candidates Monday night at a Democratic fundraising event in New York, saying their complaints about CNBC’s debate moderation aren’t an encouraging preview for their governing abilities.

“Have you noticed that everyone of these candidates say, ‘Obama’s weak. Putin’s kicking sand in his face. When I talk to Putin, he’s going to straighten out,'” Obama said, impersonating a refrain among Republican candidates that he’s allowed Russian President Vladimir Putin too much leeway.

“Then it turns out they can’t handle a bunch of CNBC moderators at the debate. Let me tell you, if you can’t handle those guys, then I don’t think the Chinese and the Russians are going to be too worried about you,” Obama said.”